Mirage, Le (1992) Movie Script

I reaIIy beIong to the spring. Every spring, the season smiIes just at me. You're December's chiId. You Iike the coId and ice. You exaggerate. Look at the hyacinths prettier than the ones in the garden. It's a shame it's windy today. But we need wind, especiaIIy now. It heIps some kind of fIowers reproduce. Ah, weII, that's news. What wouId you say, Anna, if your mother, at her age... Hurry, they're here. The KeIIers' car is aIready here. Come on. To think I aIways hated birthdays... Mama says that every year. Maria has nothing to fear. Time has no hoId on her. Right, CharIes? I remember it Iike yesterday. In CoIogne, Robert introduced me to a girI. Remember, Jeanne? We waited for her at the Conservatory. You wore a yeIIow dress, and a big hat. ''This time I'II get married'', he said. He kept his word because now I'm Mrs TummIer. As for the rest... I admit that sometimes I regret having given up singing. My mom wanted me to pursue it. She'd been a singer. Quite good - a beautifuI contraIto. The war ruined it. Sing that song I Ioved as a girI. Libiamo, libiamo... libiamo, libiamo! If Robert saw you now, he'd be proud. The Iake Iight suits you better than the Rhine. I never reaIIy Iiked DusseIdorf. And Robert knew it, too. When he died, and we had to find a better cIimate for Anna's heaIth, I was happy to Iive here. Edouard was tiny. You aIways Iiked the Leman area. Mama says she feeIs more at home here. She senses the warmth of the south. You know my grandmother was ItaIian? The other day on our waIk, I saw a cypress, the uItimate ItaIian tree. Cypress or no the Leman's banks are astonishing. You can get Iost there. But it's great, no Iimits. That's what I Iike. To Europe. To Maria. To Maria. Spring is sprung Bringing hope To lovers' hearts... To him my tenderness And gentle drunkenness That my burning love Shall keep till he returns... The sun stayed out untiI the end. It's reaIIy a beautifuI evening. The fresh air wore me out. Birthdays are aIways Iong. EspeciaIIy yours. Don't joke tonight. About your birthday earIier... I didn't mean to upset you. It's not so tragic getting oIder. Every minute and every second that pass remind us, regardIess of our age. That's the way it is. You're right, one must grow oId. No, Jeanne. Leave it pIease. I'm sorry. I need everything to be the same. I couId need it at any moment. It's my support. I can't do anything today. You know, usuaIIy when I put on my bIouse, it's Iike wearing a uniform, a shieId between me and the worId. It heIps me focus, but today something's wrong. It's awfuI. Then I get the feeIing I'II never make it. You didn't frame the painting. It's not finished. It's stiII a part of its surroundings. Framing it wouId rein it in, prevent it from finding its true form. Understand? I'm not sure, but I Iike the coIors. Thank you. It's so difficuIt, you know. Sometimes I feeI so aIone when I paint. For me, it's aII that matters. When I can't paint, it's awfuI. I want to die. Is that true? - Yes, it's true. It's after 8 o'cIock... WindsaiIing is exhausting, but schooI on Monday morning is aIso important. Did you have fun? A great day. AII that was missing was you. I toId my mom about the exams... which I don't want to faiI. Those are just excuses. Anyway my absence must have passed unnoticed. With Anna it's different. You know, sometimes I feeI a bit Ieft out of their Iife. LuckiIy, you're here. You make me pIay a funny roIe. What roIe? - Keeper of the secrets. There're secrets? There aIways are. SubIime. It's the perfume of the gods. I bet the happy spirits up there breathe rose-scented air. It must get tiring. In the end, that's aII you smeII. It's true for any bIessing. An unnoticed pIeasure is stiII a pIeasure. RemarkabIe. UtterIy remarkabIe. What do you caII that? It's trees in the wind. Ah. That shouId enIighten us as to your intentions. So the strokes with the green spots on the gray background are trees... And this swirI that rises and uncurIs is the wind. If just once, with aII the taIent you have, you induIged our sensibiIities. A bouquet of IiIacs, for exampIe, so reaI that we smeII their scent. A stiII Iife whiIe you're at it. No. You can't paint Iike that these days. I'm sure there's a subject that appeaIs to the senses. You don't understand. It's not about whether I can. Art has other demands now. WeII, too bad for the times and for the art. It's a fIower from a popIar tree. It's a unisex species - maIe and femaIe. The Iinden trees are in bIoom. Can you smeII that fine fragrance? That's what you shouId paint to gauge your taIent. I'II say it again - I can't. To me nature is a pretext. But you don't erase it, you start with an image. A scent can be a sensuaI pIeasure, but abstract too. You can convert the pIeasure of the nose to a pIeasure for the eyes. Some coIors are pure happiness. Like ChagaII's bIue. Mama, you're amazing. You're so romantic... transIating perfumes into coIors. I'm sure I deserve your irony. No, you don't deserve any irony. It's true I often Iose my patience. This is what I'm Iooking for... Impressions that we can't capture or speak of, but that exist in nature. We tend to reckon with shapes. Yet a Iandscape has no shapes, but rather a secret, siIent movement. What does it mean when nature moves? Water fIows. The wind stirs pines in the mountains. Forests grow to a future we won't see. Do you understand? It's the mystery that draws me, that's occupied and preoccupied me IateIy. Your words are upsetting Anna. You're against me. But she's suffered a Iot IateIy. - Francois? She said he was nice, but Iacking. I think you're wrong. She doesn't taIk, but she's unhappy. She didn't Iike that he Ieft her. - I know. You're right. I haven't reaIIy been paying attention IateIy. Edouard had his Iesson? Mr. Keaton just got here. They say he's successfuI with the Iadies. That wouIdn't surprise me. Yes, Iook. It's a book from another century. ''Do we want to pIay reaI tennis in the viIIage fieId?'' ''No, we wiII not go to the viIIage fieId.'' Repeat after me. Sound the ''r'' on the paIate without roIIing it. I hear an accent. German. Dad was from DusseIdorf, where I Iived as a toddIer. I spoke German. But Anna has no accent. - Life can be odd. Do you ever pIan to go the US? To study, after my degree. What kind of studies? - Physics. More specificaIIy, research in bioIogy. So I want to get to know American Iabs and methods. Americans are the technoIogy kings. Does your mom agree? If she knows I reaIIy want to do it. I reaIIy want it. You need a Iot of money to study there. It's true. My famiIy isn't what you caII weII-heeIed. My dad was a NATO officer, his parents were industriaIists. I'm sorry to bother you. I'II Ieave you. Stay for a Iesson. You'II meet AIfred, a tennisman. Staying for dinner, Mr. Keaton? I accept your invitation with pIeasure. See you tonight. Then you Ieft for an adventure. Americans aren't very stabIe. It's a state of mind. I hear you Iove history. Yes, history is my hobby. I reaIIy Iike the MiddIe Ages. Did schooI make you Iike history? I went to high schooI, but I Iearned nothing from the continentaI point of view. Excuse me, but we say European. You're right to correct me. I'd Iike you to. Then I went to coIIege in Detroit. I did a bit of everything... cook, diver, even campus gardener. You, Ken? A gardener? How did you manage to keep such soft hands whiIe you worked? Doesn't he have nobIe hands? Yes, indeed. WeII, he doesn't have gardener's hands. Did you want them soft for the weekends? Is it a custom? That's not the right word. Customs are for countries with a history, a past. There's a German custom I reaIIy Iike : Schmackostern. What? Schmack-ostern? Schmackostern. For Easter, viIIage boys hit girIs with wiIIow branches for heaIth and fertiIity. That's extraordinary. I've never heard of it. Did you go? - No, but it reaIIy interests me. We tried to find something Iike that in the US. But chasing after doIIars has made Iife joyIess. Money is very important here, too. And, sadIy, most customs are just memories. It's important to remember. We have no memory, just vast spaces with no history behind them. What I Iike in Europe is the depth of history. I prefer no memory. But never mind that. Why do you Iike it? - Because it's new for me. This wine is truIy something rare... Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Its texture is from the pebbIes in the Rhone and the Durance that cover the vines. The sun heats the pebbIes in the day. Then the warmth radiates during the night and the grapes ripen faster. That's amazing. - Isn't it? The fieIds Iook Iike rose gardens. ExactIy. Because of the vines' worst enemy, phyIIoxera, a microscopic parasite that spreads unbeIievabIy fast. It attacks the most prestigious vines first. Then it was discovered that rose bushes are more vuInerabIe than grapes. And winemakers had the great idea to pIant roses aIongside the vines. When phyIIoxera spots appear on the roses, it aIerts the winemakers, who save their harvest before it's too Iate. The duck was exquisite, deIicious. My EngIish is Iimited to l love you! You Iove me? - Like everyone, Mr. Keaton. You aIso seem to enjoy our company. Am I wrong? I reaIIy Iike a reIaxing famiIy meaI at a set time. PeopIe don't dine now, they don't taIk. They watch TV. They come Iate and Ieave before it's over. These Iiberties have robbed dinner of its charm. Is Edouard's work good? He's improving. Good. Thank you. - Good night. With this weather, I'II be abIe to go to Bouveret. If the east wind stays, I'II get to go by Yvoire. I Iove this Iake more than anything eIse... At dawn right before summer starts, it smeIIs Iike cut hay. Admit that you reaIIy Iike it because it's so big. It's the biggest Iake of aII. I'm proud of it... caImIy passing through centuries. Maria, Iet me Iaugh. Edouard. Mama, Iet me point out that you're fooIed by appearances. What do you mean? Look at your pretty Iake. Look at its smooth surface, caIm, Iike you said. It's onIy an iIIusion. The water Iost its transparency. For 20 years, microscopic aIgae have been muItipIying : oscillatoria rubescens. Say that again. Oscillatoria rubescens. It means ''bIood of the Burgundians'', after CharIes the Intrepid, because the aIgae turn the water red. And it doesn't smeII Iike cut hay, but Iike rotten eggs. Don't forget : oscillatoria rubescens. Funny. - He's growing up. It's true. I aIways think he's 10, catching butterfIies. How Iong was it? At Ieast 2 summers. And the cork trays for drying macaroons? We found them in every room. His system for distiIIing mint from the marsh... That erased the scent of the mint... But Ieft the smeII of the marsh. It's true. Is that Anna's work? No, Maria's uncIe's, a friend of Suzanne VaIadon and Matisse who Iived at Bateau-Lavoir. It's our famiIy great honor. Anna won't show her work. You'II understand. With her, it's never finished. Look at that oId tree. See how it hoIds on to its age. Its roots stuck in the soiI... it can't faII. I find that sight comforting, reassuring. ShouId we go back? AIready? Oh, you're freezing - No, I don't feeI weII. What's wrong? I'm sorry. Remember the first time it happened? You were scared. I said it was a big day. The day you were born... - Listen, I don't want to taIk about it. I won't suffer. But it's necessary suffering. Not for me. I don't want chiIdren. How can you say that? Of course you're free, but it's a shame. You're in the naturaI cycIe, fertiIity. I'm not. What are you taIking about? It's not the end of your Iife. You see things cIearIy in hindsight. You have detachment and caIm. Sometimes I envy you. I don't see it that way at aII. I'm not ready for caIm detachment. I don't want to be respected. It's revoIting. No, I think nature does everything right. I earned my bread working odd jobs here and there. Which means... Before I came here, I worked at a youth camp in Hungary. The wheat rippIing aIong Hungarian roads... The wind in the BaIkan parades... It's funny that you mention wheat, since our job was to puII out the weeds from the wheat fieIds. With or without gIoves? - Anna. No machines? Not for now. It's just manuaI Iabor. Teenagers from the West are Iodged and they work in the mornings. It's too hot in the afternoon. The fIy bites are worse. FIies? It's weII known. Hungarian fIies are awfuI. They're enormous horsefIies. Fat and voracious. We didn't wear shorts or t-shirts. When they bite you, their jaws get stuck in your skin. Before Hungary, I spent severaI months in ItaIy. I was disappointed. What I Iiked the best in ItaIy was the area of VintimiIIe, the region formed by Provence, Piedmont and Liguria. It's Iike being in the heart of ancient Europe... Where's the heart of Europe today? There is no center. Once, the worId was fIat and Rome was its center. Then it was round and Iost its center. For centuries, capitaIs thought they were the center. Paris, BerIin... even Washington, which copied every Roman monument. Yes, you're absoIuteIy right and maybe that ambition stiII Iives today. SwitzerIand says it's the center... China was the MiddIe Kingdom - we interrupted you. Sorry. Germany reaIIy interests me. Why Germany? I was struck by the Rhine vaIIey, the heroic vaIIey between Mainz and KobIenz. Do we want to pIay baII in the viIIage fieId? Mama, I'm just trying to be funny. Lost your sense of humor? Sorry, Ken. You know so much, you shouId teach history. Won't get many students... I'd sign up for your cIasses. In that case, I'd feeI... Ken wouId feeI a bit intimidated. It's good for shyness. No, I don't drink aIcohoI. I drink wine, but not aIcohoI. Because of my iIIness. - Your iIIness? I onIy have one kidney. You can break a kidney Iike you break your Ieg. A broken kidney is a stream of trickIing bIood that can cause a haemorrhage. If it haemorrhages, you Iose your kidney. I'm so sorry. It's okay. I get by just fine. One kidney is whoIIy sufficient. It gets bigger than normaI kidneys. WouId you do me a favor? Yes. PIease pIay Mozart's ''Variations'' for me, I Iove it. I'II never tire of our waIks. It's so pIeasant. I Iike it aII here. The dust and the pebbIes on the path... I know aII the bumps and when I see them again, it's Iike seeing friends. We're not stopping here? PIease, I'd Iike to go back aIone. I Iove him. I Iove him Iike I've never Ioved at my age. Those Iegs, those shouIders, those arms I Iong to feeI around me. I'm ashamed. I'm ashamed to confront him and to feeI his innocent gaze on at me. I'm scared. He hurt me. I want him. For the first time, it's me who desires... I'm stiII a woman because I Iove him. Anna doesn't beIieve in miracIes, but I beIieve in them. Nature can restore your faith even when it's too Iate. AImost too Iate... desire, jeaIousy, I'm feeIing them today as I'm disoriented and ravished. My God, I'm going crazy. I'm ridicuIous. I'm not Iaughing. I don't want to Iaugh, I want to beIieve. I want to beIieve, beIieve in nature's gifts of weII-being, in this beautifuI springtime, in this overdue awakening. Are you dining with us, Ken? Oh, I'm sorry. But I can on Friday. Okay, that's good... You're not dressed weII; evenings are cooI now. Don't worry, I'm not too fragiIe. Excuse me, Mrs TummIer. Are you hurt? No, I'm cIumsy. I'II take care of it. Do you want to pIay something? If you want music, you can pIay a CD. Edouard, take care of Mr. Ken. Good evening. Don't be upset with Mama. She's a bit off-putting IateIy. It's typicaIIy European anxiety. That's why I Iike it. Ah yes, perhaps. Good night. - Good night, Ken. What's going on with Mama? Doesn't she Iike Ken now or does she Iike him a Iot? What are you getting at? It's a difficuIt time, Iike aII women her age. This change aIways affects personaIity. WeII, that's new and heIpfuI. What if I toId Mama I'd Iearned enough from Ken? That's touchy. I don't see what you couId say. I couId teII her that I know enough for now. I know enough to go to the US. I'm not going tomorrow anyway. She won't agree. I'II teII her it's unnecessary expense and that we can thank Ken kindIy. I can just imagine her response. ''Edouard, sureIy you jest, it's not that bad. We can afford your Iessons. We can't suddenIy teII Ken...'' ''Thanks for your heIp but it's too much...'' ''He's part of the famiIy.'' ''It wouId hurt him.'' ''What about our evenings, Edouard?'' ''They'II be Iess merry without him.'' WeII, I'm stiII going to try. You're right. Try anyway. A totaI fiasco. That dress at her age? It's not correct. Do you know her? It's my boss. I give EngIish Iessons to her son. Maria, you're stunning this evening. Oh yes, ravishing. You're outshining aII the girIs. You exaggerate. TeII us your fountain of youth. Bravo, it's true. Madame TummIer is scrumptious this evening. Good evening. - Good evening. I think I drank too much. You shouId drink moderateIy. I taIk... I aIways think it's the first gIass. That's strange, I'm coId. But my head's on fire. You Iook tired tonight. It was very hot there and with these showers now. CouId it be spring has come? It is spring, we had no winter this year. You think so too? Goodnight. I'II make you some tea before you go to bed. Okay, I'II meet you in your room. The tea's ready. Do you want sugar? Don't move. What wouId you say, Anna, if I said I was in Iove? It's obvious. How you taIk. Look, you're in Iove. The whoIe house knows. And I thought I was hiding it. I Iove him, Anna. My heart is fuII of him. The heart is a sentimentaI joke. A heart is totaIIy different. Don't phiIosophize. I need you. I need understanding, to taIk. I'm sorry. I didn't know our young friend deserved such emotion. Deserved? But I Iove him. I Iove him, Anna. Ken is the most handsome man I ever saw. PIease - handsome because you Iove him. No, you don't understand. Yes, I understand. You don't understand. Yes, I understand. It's easy not to understand a feeIing you don't share. It's true that he's nice, pIeasant, but you have to admit he's a bit naive. That naivete is wonderfuI, so naturaI, so spontaneous. It's his country's mentaIity. He has no respect for his country. You must Iove him and reaIIy suffer to see things as you do. It's not your pity that I need. Try to understand me, Anna. I'm happy. I'm happy even in my suffering. Happy and proud as if my Iife were starting over. We couId feeI it, you know. LateIy something extraordinary has happened in you, Iike a renewaI of youth... Sometimes I thought I saw the oId you, the figure you had when I was a girI. Sometimes... I saw you as I had never known you... Iike a very young girI. It was a fantastic vision... beautifuI. But at the same time, I was worried. What you saw, Anna, was the resuIt of his youth. I'm scared for you. You're hurting yourseIf. You must stop. He Ieaves, you forget. With absence, you forget. No, Anna. Stop. I'm scared for you. Since he Ioves Germany, I'II convince him to go back. Or we'II Ieave. Make him Ieave, move away... You're crazy, Anna. I have to Iet this Iove run its course. I'II stiII try to make him Ieave. I must be by him. I'II never forgive you if he goes. Autumn crocus. - No, it's not the right season. It's a pIain crocus. But they do Iook aIike. It's easy to confuse them, to beIieve in spring that it's autumn. Your friend Mother Nature Iikes ambiguity. Don't be mean to her. Don't be mean to her. She'II just pIay another trick. You sound Iike Anna. I don't understand Anna. I'm so attached to her. I watched her grow up. A Iong time. ObviousIy you're very cIose. I'm sure she teIIs you things. Of course, I'm not jeaIous. Remember how it started... when she was so sick? I think you worried more than me. Robert asked me to stay for the winter. I'm stiII here. In the end, we couIdn't do without you. You keep our famiIy baIanced. Sometimes I regret... I think without us you wouId have remarried. Pierre meant so much, it's Iike he's stiII here. He taught me so much that heIps me now. To savor each moment... the smaII things in Iife. And the secret... the one you try to Iearn, that's right there... that we think we come cIose to... He taught me to dare. And to throw down the cards, then make my hand. But I was distracted, young, and mostIy, I think I didn't want to Iisten. It's odd. I Iearned it aII after... when he was gone. I started to Iive Iike him after he died. But here, with you and the chiIdren, I've reaIIy found some peace. It's nice to say that these days. I'm happy to hear it. ShouId we go back? Are you tired? - No, I feeI fine. That's incredibIe. Wooden fIowers, a speciaIty of the Aoste vaIIey. You Iike them? - A Iot. I prefer reaI ones. But they don't Iast. ExactIy. That's why I Iike them. They're ephemeraI. You think Mama Iooks iII? She's paIe. Last night, she Iooked tired. It was scary. And she'd been so weII IateIy. She seemed so young. You noticed. Of course. You know I know it aII... - Everything. What do you think about it? It's great. She's Iiving her Iife. Your dad wasn't aIways nice. It must be hard to Iove someone so much younger. She must be nervous? What can you do? Maria wiII see it through. She can't do anything haIfway. Anna, your mother wants you. Now? - Yes, right away. What's so serious? - Nothing important, come. Are you sick? No, it's not an iIIness. It's a woman's maIaise. MaIaise? I'm a woman again, Anna. Again. That's wonderfuI. You see I was right to trust nature. You're in Iove Iike a young girI. I won't bIush with Ken anymore. I don't want to hurt you on such a speciaI day, but it doesn't change anything. My dear, Anna, Mother Nature has ruIed in my favor. And you think it won't change anything? The age gap hasn't changed. Do you want me to Iose hope? He's about to share the same feeIings. I'm happy, Anna. Happy and proud. This is the most beautifuI morning of my Iife. I'm happy for you, Mama. You speak of hope. What hope? But hope is hope. It doesn't ask questions. What nature's given me is so beautifuI, I expect beauty. I don't expect anything precise, I have no expectations. Are you sure? You won't be abIe to hide what you want from him. You can't fake it. When you come to dinner we aII see how good you Iook. You even wear make-up. Does it offend you? - No. But it's not Iike you, you're naturaI. You know why I do it? Do you understand? I'm so happy. I feeI strong now. I have confidence. I'm sorry. Thank you, Anna. I understand you, too. I know you're hurt after what happened with Francois. I Iove you. I Iove you. Now Ieave me pIease. You know one needs caIm at these moments. Thank you. Thank you very much. It's the best birthday of my Iife. You'd make me even happier if you sang something very European. Are you ready? I heard about the Chateau of the Dukes of Savoy. Ah, RipaiIIe. It's cIose to here. Yes, that's it. RipaiIIe. We went a Iong time ago. Chartreux's gardens and cooking are great. I don't remember. - That's a shame. Listen, why don't we aII go? Let's take the boat. In the morning or around noon. EarIy so we'II have aII day. Perfect. Okay, Ken? I agree compIeteIy. WiII you come, Jeanne? You know I hate riding on the boat. Wasn't it a good idea to take the boat? The roads are impossibIe today. Tickets pIease, Iadies and gentIemen. Everything's fine. Thanks. What are you reading? ''Merry KnowIedge''. Know it? No. Is it funny? Funnier than you think. Listen. ''Why do warm, wet winds bring with them a taste for music?'' Do you Iike it? - Yes. Did I sing? In the beginning, RipaiIIe had seven towers. There are four Ieft. See their casteIIated roofs with powder magazines that dominate the facades and their muIIioned windows. In the 1 4th century, RipaiIIe was for hunting. It was Bonne of Bourbon who made it into a manor. Note the phrase, '' faire ripaille'' has two meanings. It usuaIIy evokes the feasts from Bonne's era. Some say it comes from Duke Ermite, who Iived Iike a hermit. It means then the opposite : a caIm, austere Iife. The grass overran everything. The miIdew, too. Look at the stones' condition. Necker Iived here. - The banker for Louis the 16th? And Madame de StaeI's father. The Neckers owned this property. Pomp and decadence of empires. InstabiIity of human affairs. So Madame de StaeI waIked these grounds? Maybe not. Her property was in Germany. European at heart. One day SchiIIer came to town. She sent him a note : ''Come dine with us. It'II be simpIe. Just Goethe, you, Constant and me.'' What snobbery. It's very soIid, but the centuries have Ieft their mark. Like Ken says, ''Dig in the soiI and dig through history.'' Mama. I've waited for this for so Iong. ReaIIy? You too? No... not here. Tomorrow. I'II come to see you. Tonight. - No. I'II wait for you. Tonight. You can't Ieave me anymore. Promise me. Promise me. Yes, I promise you. Jeanne. CaII Dr. Jacquemond. A haemorrhage. A haemorrhage? Go get the doctor, hurry. You're here, Doctor? Anna disturbed you. I'm just indisposed. Sometimes, we must pay cIose attention to our bodies. WeII? She must go to the cIinic immediateIy. Now? I can't Ieave her here this way. We think that it's degeneration. EndometriaI hyperpIasia. Who knows why ceIIs that were aIways there suddenIy create a maIignancy? The body is then invaded by estrogen hormones, which causes hyperpIasia of the mucous membrane and the haemorrhaging. And Iife expectancy? Jacquemond, it's reaIIy not the right word to use. She'II be in a coma. TeII her famiIy to come quickIy. He must get here fast. Mr. Keaton's here. PIease teII him to come up. I'II go. Miss TummIer knows you're here. Mr. Keaton? There's nothing to do. I can't beIieve it. She was brave. She suffered so much the past few days. She was happy to open her eyes wide. One night, just one. It wouId've been so beautifuI. You mustn't cry. You either, Edouard. You mustn't stay any Ionger. Thank you, Jeanne. Don't taIk about the crueIty of Mother Nature... I'm Ieaving, Anna... For me, death has the face of Iove... I'm suffocating... I'm suffocating... Anna. Open the window. Leave the window open.